


Peach Blossom

by skylinesunflowers



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, Family, Grief/Mourning, Minor Character Death, Politics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylinesunflowers/pseuds/skylinesunflowers
Summary: Leslie's children beg her to take them to Florida, and she relents.
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Kudos: 7





	Peach Blossom

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. I need to update my two WIPs, damn it. And, I promise, I will. Probably. Whatever. Just skip ahead to the story.

At ten, the only place Leslie wanted to visit was Washington D.C. Maybe that was because her father had just passed away, or maybe it was because she was just different. Their family vacations from then on consisted of a road trip to D.C., with maybe a stop in Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Maryland.

Apparently, the height of a ten-year-old's life now consisted of a family trip to Florida. More specifically, Disney World.

Leslie came home early one June morning, when the streets of D.C. were hot and humid. Her hair stuck to her scalp, and she'd probably sweat through her clothes after insisting that she walk to work. After all, it was barely an hour on foot, which wasn't much if she woke early.

Sonia was coloring at the kitchen table, using cerulean on Madeleine Albright's hair. She winced and tried to ignore it. Ben had managed to configure some coloring sheets with the faces of her favorite politicians, so that they could be imprinted on her children's minds well into adulthood. Never mind. That just sounded creepy.

"Mom," she said, in that long, drawn-out whine that the kids hadn't quite grown out of, "can we go to Disney World?"

Leslie froze. Disney World? Why? Their summer trip was planned already - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to see a Civil War reenactment. Disney World over politics? Now that was just an odd choice.

She shot Sonia down, dropped her things in the bedroom, and called Ann in a hurry. The beautiful, sensible, level-headed holarctic tree frog was always here to help Leslie through her the sticky spots of parenting.

"Ann, you marvelous sunflower," she said, breathless when Ann picked up the phone. "My children are heathens."

"What? Leslie, just because they don't know the name of that Pennsylvanian junior senator doesn't mean they're heathens. Neither do I."

"Patrick Toomey, Ann, but that doesn't matter. They want to go to Florida for our summer trip." Leslie shuddered. "Florida, Ann! To Disney World, instead of seeing a Civil War reenactment. I'm going to have to get a maternity test. Do you think I'm really the mother?"

Ann's sigh crackled through the speaker of Leslie's cell phone. "Leslie, they're kids. Oliver wanted me to take him to Disney World a few years back. He loved it there. Seriously, it's just them being kids."

"If you say so. I'm not taking them, anyways."

"No, Leslie, you have to take them. If you don't, all they're going to remember of their childhood is you _not_ taking them. This will be good for you, too. You can tell them about Robert."

"Ann," she huffed, and sighed. "I can't stay mad at you. Okay. I'll talk to Ben."

"Bye, Leslie." The line went dead.

Wesley came running into the bedroom at that very minute, holding a model of R2DQ, or whatever that golden robot was named. "Mom, Sonia colored his hand blue. Where's Dad's paints?"

Ben had paint? If he did, she'd never seen it.

"I'll help you find it," Leslie said, and began searching the nightstand drawers.

***

It was a humid morning in early July, and Leslie was sweating so hard that it might as well have rained. Her Minnie Mouse t-shirt was soaked through by the time they got back to their room after breakfast.

Despite the heat, Ben got into a suit and began lobbying Wesley and Stephen to do the same. Leslie donned a black dress, and brushed Sonia's hair back into a side ponytail.

He bumped his shoulder into hers when she was gathering her purse. "Hey, babe, are you okay with this? Ann's smart, but you don't have to do this just because she said so."

Leslie took a deep breath and smiled. "No, no, I - I want to."

"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, let me know."

In the car, Stephen asked if they were going to see someone who died. That was, after all, what the suits and abundance of black was associated with. Leslie nodded, and paused when he asked who.

Ben watched her closely, and she could see him out of the corner of her eye, about to touch her shoulder to show his silent support. She took a deep breath, and told them.

Her father was a loving man, a feminist and a Democrat, brave and kind, and never underestimated her intelligence. At the age of six, he introduced her to politics through a lengthy discussion on the Torrijos–Carter Treaties. Her children gathered in the backseat, silent.

When Leslie started to cry, Ben put an end to the conversation. He could probably sense the alarm in their children. That was for the better.

She cried again when she placed the bouquet of white roses by his gravestone, and he made no attempt to quiet her. Instead, Ben wound an arm around her waist, and held her while she wept. Worried, Sonia held on to her free hand.

In the end, Ann was right. It still hurt, as it should have, but the pain wasn't as bad. The next week, she made an appointment to go see Marlene, and talk about Robert. For the first time, she didn't clam up when things got tough. It still hurt, but she could handle it.

Leslie Knope was unbreakable.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, I'm gonna go work on my M. Sec. fanfic now.


End file.
